Korkmaz Leads the Way in Day 1b of Carmen Series Merit Poker Cup
Day 1b of the Carmen Series $2,200 Merit Poker Cup has come to a close here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. The second of four starting flights attracted a total of 141 entrants. After the dust had settled, 65 players were able to bag their chips at the end of the night and advance to Day 2. Koray Korkmaz finished the night with the biggest stack in the room, ending with 535,000 chips worth 214 big blinds going into Day 2. Korkmaz is most closely followed by Sergei Sokharev (504,500) and Iurii Saiapin (488,500).
Korkmaz got off to a great start during this festival after taking down the first event: $2,200 Mystery Bounty 6-handed for $85,000 including bounties. Korkmaz has just under $1,000,000 in lifetime tournament earnings and has momentum on his side going into Day 2 of the Merit Poker Cup.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koray Korkmaz | Turkey | 535,000 | 214 |
| 2 | Sergei Sokharev | Russian Federation | 504,500 | 202 |
| 3 | Iurii Saiapin | Russian Federation | 488,500 | 195 |
| 4 | Siavash Ziarat | Iran | 432,500 | 173 |
| 5 | Lyudmil Ivanov | Bulgaria | 420,000 | 168 |
| 6 | Halil Tasyurek | Turkey | 401,500 | 161 |
| 7 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 380,500 | 152 |
| 8 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 373,500 | 149 |
| 9 | Alexandru Papazian | Romania | 364,000 | 146 |
| 10 | Jenya Gavrilovich | Belarus | 343,500 | 137 |
Day 1b began with 16 players to start. The tournament's excellent structure, featuring 60-minute levels and a starting stack worth over 150 big blinds, ensured players had plenty of room to maneuver. Vadim Volkhonskiy got off to a hot start today after cracking pocket aces with a set of kings and was able to ride that early success all the way to the end of the night where he bagged an average stack. Giorgiy Skhulukhiya was also among the chip leaders in the first few levels of the day after cracking his opponent's trips with a full house in another early highlight.
Fresh off a runner up finish yesterday in the $5,300 High Roller for $123,100, Halil Tasyurek wasted no time accumulating chips. He would win a monster pot with aces full midway through the day and ultimately finish the night with the sixth-largest stack.
Other notables to end the night with chips in a bag include Alexandru Papazian (364,000), Maxime Chilaud (259,500), Ozgur Secilmis (245,000) and Dmitry Gromov (136,000), Others who entered Day 1b but fell before the end of the night include Skhulukhiya, Andrey Pateychuk and Nikolay Fal.
Two starting flights remain for this event. Day 1c is already underway, while a turbo Day 1d is scheduled at 10:00 a.m. local time on March 29. The final flight begins just a couple hours before the fields combine for Day 2 at 12:30 p.m. local time the same day. Unlimited reentries and late registration will remain open until the end of Level 12, midway through Day 2.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action from tomorrow's Day 2 on March 29 until a winner is crowned on March 31.